EZEKIEL LESSON 30
We will begin this lesson in Ezekiel 28:1 "The word of the LORD
came again unto me, saying,"
Even though this Word of the Lord is for Tyre, it is different in
that it is directed more to an individual.
Ezekiel 28:2 "Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart [is] lifted up, and thou hast
said, I [am] a God, I sit [in] the seat of God, in the midst of the
seas; yet thou [art] a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart
as the heart of God:"
This is addressed to the highest official of the city of Tyre, or
Tyrus. When a person is serving as a leader, there is great
responsibility that goes with the honor of leadership. The whole city
will suffer, because of his personal evil. He was not the only one who
was committing sin, but his sin was very great, and he led others into
that sin. He had set himself up as an object of worship. He wanted to
be God. He even proclaimed himself to be a god. This is very much like
what Lucifer did, that got him thrown out of heaven. It is a very
dangerous thing to want to be as God. This ruler of Tyre had an
overabundance of pride. His power and wealth had gone to his head. He
had highly exalted himself. The son of perdition says almost the same
words in II Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means:
for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"
II Thessalonians 2:4 "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that
is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." This prince of Tyre
is a type of Satan. Even though this prince thinks he is god, he is
just a very sinful man.
Ezekiel 28:3 "Behold, thou [art] wiser than Daniel; there is no
secret that they can hide from thee:"
Daniel is the prophet in the palace of the king of Babylon. It
appears by this comparison, that Ezekiel has great respect for the
prophet Daniel. Daniel is righteous in the sight of God, and has great
reverence for God, as does Ezekiel. Daniel was the only one who had
been able to give the meaning to the king of his vision. The
difference was Daniel was a man of God, and this man is controlled by
Satan. This statement is sarcasm. This prince's wisdom is of the
earth, and not of heaven. Daniel's wisdom is a gift from God.
Ezekiel 28:4 "With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou
hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy
treasures:"
This is a statement that all of his riches and understanding came
from himself. He is not giving the God that created him credit for
anything. He believes that it is by his power and his might, that all
of this happened. He thought, because he was wealthy, that he was a
god. Sometimes, worldly people acquire great riches, but those riches
cannot save their souls.
Ezekiel 28:5 "By thy great wisdom [and] by thy traffic hast thou
increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy
riches:"
This is when riches become a curse, instead of a blessing. This
is self-worship to the furthest extent. This prince is not grateful at
all for the blessings that came his way. He believes he made his own
good fortune. It is a dangerous thing today for a business man to
believe he made his own breaks. Success is from God, not from man.
Ezekiel 28:6 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou
hast set thine heart as the heart of God;"
Now, we hear the judgement of God upon this prideful man who
thinks he is a god. We not only hear the judgement, but why God has
judged him so.
Ezekiel 28:7 "Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee,
the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against
the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness."
The strangers that come, are all the men that come with the army
of the Babylonians to destroy him. The beauty will be gone with the
battle. This city, or this prince, will not shine forth again. God
will put out his light with the army attack.
Ezekiel 28:8 "They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou
shalt die the deaths of [them that are] slain in the midst of the
seas."
This pit is sheol, or Hades. In other words, he is sent to be
punished with all the other sinners. He will have no special
treatment. He will have his part in the lake of fire at the end.
Ezekiel 28:9 "Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I
[am] God? but thou [shalt be] a man, and no God, in the hand of him
that slayeth thee."
He may think he is a god, but the slayer does not think of him as
a god, or he would not slay him. The fact that he is killed, and stays
dead, proves he is no god.
Ezekiel 28:10 "Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by
the hand of strangers: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD."
The worst condemnation a Hebrew can think of is to call a person
uncircumcised. The Jews believed all who were uncircumcised were lost.
Ezekiel 28:11 "Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying,"
We see a break in the prophecy with this statement.
Ezekiel 28:12 "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of
Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the
sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty."
This prince of Tyrus thought himself to be the pinnacle of beauty
and wisdom. His beauty and wisdom were of an earthly nature. True
wisdom comes from God, and true beauty is from the soul of man stayed
upon God. These verses go beyond the prince in Tyrus, and show us the
same one who was the deceiver in the garden of Eden. We see a type of
Satan, himself, in the prince of Tyrus. Satan was beautiful to the
eye, but was not beautiful in his spirit.
Ezekiel 28:13 "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every
precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the
diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the
emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets
and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast
created."
We know that Tyrus had not been in the garden of Eden. Satan was
there in the form of the serpent. The garden of Eden, here, is,
possibly, speaking of that heavenly garden of Eden. The garden of Eden
on the earth will be restored to those who reach heaven. The garden of
Eden on the earth is but a type of that wonderful place where the Tree
of life is in heaven. That is the garden that Lucifer was thrown out
of. That is the garden with the beautiful stones and the streets of
Gold. When God created Lucifer, He made him beautiful. He gave him
pipes to create music with. Music affects the soul of man. Beautiful
worship music lifts us into the very presence of God in our spirit.
The music controlled by Satan {Lucifer}, will bring the spirit of man
to the brink of hell itself. Some music in our day, that is very
dangerous to listen to, is the rock music. It is worse than a mind
controlling drug. It affects our very thoughts. God prepared the pipes
for beautiful music. It is the misuse of the pipes that is evil.
Ezekiel 28:14 "Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and
I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou
hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire."
We must remember that Lucifer was a created being. He was not a
god. He wanted to be a god, but was not. The midst of the stones of
fire is where the very presence of God is. He had the special
privilege of being in the very presence of God in heaven. He ruined
all of that, when he was sent out of heaven, by God.
Ezekiel 28:15 "Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that
thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee."
There were three archangels in heaven of whom Lucifer was one. He
was actually over one third of the angels in heaven. He was said to be
the most beautiful. His position was very high. The iniquity was found
in him, when he wanted to be God. All leaders are put into office by
God. The prince of Tyrus made the same mistake as Lucifer. He became
too proud of himself. He wanted to be a god. We find the fall of both
in the next verses.
Ezekiel 28:16 "By the multitude of thy merchandise they have
filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned:
therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and
I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones
of fire."
This is speaking directly of Lucifer, but is, also, indirectly
speaking to the prince of Tyrus. The prince is a type of Lucifer
{Satan}. God cast Lucifer out of heaven. God will cast the prince of
Tyrus off his throne, as well. Lucifer will no longer stay in the
presence of God. The prince will no longer rule over Tyrus.
Ezekiel 28:17 "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,
thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will
cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may
behold thee."
Lucifer did not realize his brightness came from being in the
near presence of God. The fire that had been a comforting presence of
God, will now, be the very thing that destroys him. Lucifer is cast to
the ground. The prince is cast to the ground.
Ezekiel 28:18 "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude
of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I
bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I
will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that
behold thee."
The temples, which had caused Tyre to be called the holy island,
are now defiled. The fire in the sanctuary had been a presence of God
with man. Now, that very fire will break forth upon them, and destroy
them. This reminds us of the fire that came from the altar and
destroyed the two sons of Aaron, when they sinned in the sanctuary.
God is a very present help to those who worship and love Him. He is a
consuming fire to those who worship false gods.
Ezekiel 28:19 "All they that know thee among the people shall be
astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never [shalt] thou
[be] any more."
The prince of Tyre had been elevated up by the people. Now, he is
brought down in front of these very same people. He will be no more,
because God will destroy him.
Ezekiel 28:20 "Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,"
This is a complete break from the previous prophecy.
Ezekiel 28:21 "Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and
prophesy against it,"
Zidon was the "twin" of Tyre. We may rightly assume that the same
sins are in Zidon, as in Tyre. These two towns are spoken of many
times together.
Ezekiel 28:22 "And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am]
against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee:
and they shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I shall have executed
judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her."
God brings His righteous judgement upon Zidon, the same as He did
on Tyre, and on the prince of Tyre. God will be glorified, in the fact
that these great worldly cities come under the judgement of God. God
is sanctified, when His holiness is shown in judgement.
Ezekiel 28:23 "For I will send into her pestilence, and blood
into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her
by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I [am]
the LORD."
Pestilence was one of the things God used against Jerusalem, and
is, again, used here. It is one of the judgements God uses, to show
the judgement is from Him.
Ezekiel 28:24 "And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto
the house of Israel, nor [any] grieving thorn of all [that are] round
about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I [am] the
Lord GOD."
They had been jealous of the house of Israel. They were pleased,
when Israel was Judged of God. Now, the same judgement is upon them.
They had not sympathized with Israel. They had been happy about the
fate of Israel, thinking it might move them up in the world. You never
grow from the downfall of another.
Ezekiel 28:25 "Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have
gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are
scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the
heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my
servant Jacob."
This statement is made to Zidon, but states that God will restore
Israel. He will not only restore them to their land and their homes,
but to their God, as well.
Ezekiel 28:26 "And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall
build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with
confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise
them round about them; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD their
God."
God explains to Zidon, that part of the reason they have been
cursed of God, is because of their hatred and envy toward Israel. God
will deal favorably toward Israel, but He will not restore Zidon.
Ezekiel 30 Questions
1. Who is this prophecy directed to?
2. What terrible thing had he said?
3. There is a great ______________ that goes with leadership.
4. Who is this prince like?
5. Quote 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 4.
6. This prince thinks himself wiser than what prophet?
7. This prophet is in the palace of whom?
8. This prince is controlled by _________.
9. The prince believes his riches came from ___________.
10. Verse 5 is self __________ to the furthest extent.
11. Who are the strangers in verse 7?
12. Why does the slayer kill this prince?
13. What is the pit?
14. What is the worst condemnation a Hebrew can speak on someone?
15. The prince of Tyrus thought himself to be the pinnacle of
_________
and __________.
16. True wisdom is a ________ from ___.
17. True beauty comes from ____________.
18. Who, besides the prince of Tyrus, do we see in this?
19. How was Satan present in the garden of Eden?
20. What is the garden of Eden on earth a type and shadow of?
21. What garden is spoken of in verse 13?
22. Who created Lucifer?
23. What was he like, when he was created?
24. Music affects the ________ of man.
25. What is the dangerous music of our day?
26. What is the "midst of the stones of fire" speaking of?
27. How long was Lucifer perfect in his ways?
28. How many archangels are there in heaven, that we know about?
29. Who was Lucifer over in heaven?
30. Who was thrown out of heaven?
31. Why was Lucifer's heart lifted up?
32. Where had the brightness of Lucifer come from?
33. The fire in the sanctuary had been a presence of ______ with ____.
34. Whose sons were killed by fire from the altar?
35. Who is verse 21 bringing a prophecy against?
36. _______ was the "twin" of Tyre.
37. Why had this punishment from God come on Zidon?
38. What does verse 25 promise about Israel?
39. Will the same thing happen to Zidon?
40. What was part of the reason God had cursed Zidon?
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